Hong Kong stocks rose 201 points, or 0.8%, to 25,733 in Thursday’s morning session, marking advances for a second day after a strong Wall Street session overnight. Sentiment improved as the Fed cut interest rates as expected, with traders still hopeful for further easing ahead, even though policymakers signaled a likely pause for now. Locally, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the Fed’s move, trimming borrowing costs to their lowest since October 2022 and reinforcing the city’s policy alignment with the U.S. Broad-based gains were seen across sectors, led by financials, consumer names, and tech. However, upside momentum was tempered by caution ahead of China’s November credit data. In October, new yuan loans fell sharply and missed forecasts, reflecting weak consumer demand. Investors also looked ahead to Hong Kong’s upcoming Q3 industrial output and November unemployment data. Top movers included Prada (3.0%), Pop Mart Intl. (2.2%),China Taiping (1.9%), and Techtronic (1.2%).
